University news

Mark Greco scans a chrysalis on the One Show

Dr Mark Greco from our Department of Biology & Biochemistry was on the One Show last week, helping wildlife interviewer Mike Dilger get an inside look at the different stages of metamorphosis.

Until recently the only way of understanding the process was through dissection of a chrysalis. Thanks to innovative research at Bath, viewers saw how CAT scanning could be used to offer a real-time glimpse at a caterpillar’s transformation to a butterfly.

Most significantly this revealed just was how quickly some of the critical changes take place during metamorphosis. As Dr Greco explains in the interview: “We had a good understanding of what the changes were but we didn’t actually realise how fast it happens. It happened within a 24 hour period. One theory is that the changes occur rapidly because this is when the insect is at its most vulnerable stage”.

This latest work complements Dr Greco's current researchin using CAT scanning to obtain an inside look at bees and beehives non-invasively.